History
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Traditions
Borg-Warner Trophy
The Borg-Warner Trophy is one of the most recognizable prizes in all of sports. It’s art, speed and elegance all wrapped in one, chronicling every moment of the Indianapolis 500 it has witnessed. The name, year and average speed of each winner is engraved on the trophy, but what sets this work of art apart from the rest is the faces sculpted after each race winner. The Borg-Warner Corporation commissioned designer Robert J. Hill and Spaulding-Gorham Inc. to create a commemorative trophy honoring the winner of the Indianapolis 500. While the trophy was new in May 1936, it was made with the 24 faces of every race winner from 1911 through 1935. There is only one trophy, but in 1989 the winning driver began to receive a 14-inch version of the Borg-Warner Trophy, called the “Baby Borg.”
The Milk
The origin of the milk tradition at the Indianapolis 500 is simple, really. After having just won his third Indy 500 in 1936, Louis Meyer, an avid drinker of buttermilk, celebrated in Victory Circle with his preferred drink of choice. This moment was captured by a Movietone News cameraman. As the story goes, a dairy industry executive saw the footage and enthusiastically requested milk be made available to the winner of each Indianapolis 500 thereafter. Today, drivers competing in the Indianapolis 500 choose before the race if they would like to have whole, skim or 2% milk should they win.
Back Home Again in Indiana
“Back Home Again in Indiana” isn’t just a song. It’s an anthem for a community of millions that has turned into its mantra. The song at IMS can be traced back to 1919, when a trackside brass band performed the song as Hoosier Howdy Wilcox was on his way to victory. However, it wasn’t until 1946 that this beloved tradition became a staple of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The first time it was sung before the race, famed singer James Melton performed the song. In the years since, Jim Nabors has become most associated with the song, having performed it 36 times. 1925 Indy 500 winner Peter DePaolo performed it once, and Jim Cornelison has sung it each year since 2017.
Kiss The Bricks
Kissing the Bricks is a much more recent Indianapolis Motor Speedway tradition, and it is well-documented. It debuted at the third running of NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 in 1996. While in Victory Circle that year, crew chief Todd Parrott reminded driver Dale Jarrett that they had joked leading into the race, “If we win this thing, we should go out and kneel down and kiss the bricks.” They proceeded to do precisely that, just the two of them, and it was so spontaneous that it is fortunate anybody captured it on film.
Ricky Rudd followed their lead the next year following his Brickyard 400 win, and it eventually developed into a major and much-orchestrated tradition after winning not just the NASCAR race at IMS, but any event at the Speedway.